The present invention relates to an easily cleaned conveyor assembly especially adapted for use in applications in which strict sanitary standards must be met, such as, but not limited to conveying food products. While the present invention will be particularly described with regard to conveyors for use in industries where cleaning and sanitary conditions are important, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention has other applications where cleanliness or ease of cleaning, assembly, and disassembly are important.
Conveyor assemblies have been used for some time in various industries as a means of distribution of materials in manufacturing and processing of different products, ranging from boxes, to pharmaceuticals, to food products, to toys and many other products. For instance, in the food industry, it is common for conveyors to be used for the transport of products, such as, but no limited to, produce, meats, and other dry goods between various processing stations within a food processing facility.
Sanitation is a primary consideration in the food processing industry. Conveyors must be maintained in a clean and hygienic condition to meet basic sanitary standards. Cleaning of the conveyors is extremely costly as it requires a repeated outlay of money for soap, water, other chemicals, as well as downtime of the machines, and staff or cleaning crews to maintain a rigorous cleaning schedule. Much of the cost associated with maintaining clean, sanitary conveyors, is that current conveyor systems have numerous cracks, corners, screw holes, flat surfaces and other crevices where water, bacteria, mold, food waste, and unwanted materials can collect. In order to reach these areas, conveyor assemblies typically require the disassembly of various components, and may in fact include areas that are difficult, if not impossible, to access.
Different conveyor systems are commercially available. For instance, conveyors may operate manually or through a power source. As one example, gravity conveyors do not require a motor, but use wheels, rollers, and the pull of gravity to move materials along the conveyor. Power conveyors require a pneumatic or an electrical power source. In power conveyors, power is often transmitted from a drive system to a drive pulley, which is fastened to a drive shaft. The drive pulley transmits power to a conveyor belt, which moves the conveyor bed upon which materials to be transported rest.
In addition to the above, different conveyors include accumulating conveyors that allow for the collection of materials at a given point on the conveyor line; automated conveyors that perform conveying functions automatically; belt conveyors that utilize a belt to transport materials through the conveying system; chain conveyors that use parallel horizontal chains to move materials through a conveyor system; overhead conveyors that provide continuous movement of materials overhead; pallet conveyors that consist of portable platforms called pallets which move parts to different locations; roller conveyors that utilize round rotating parts called rollers to transport materials through the conveying system; and vertical conveyors that move materials up and down.
Generally, a conveyor assembly comprises one or more bearings, a bed upon which materials to be conveyed are placed, a belt that wraps around a conveyor pulley that transmits motion necessary for the movement of materials between two points, a drive and a drive pulley (when a power conveyor is used), a frame that provides the structural conveyor system support for the machinery that makes up the conveyor system, a pulley or wheel mechanism that controls movement, speed, and the direction of the conveyed materials, wear strips, and so forth.
The above description of conveyor systems and general assembly is presented for purposes of example only and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of conveyor systems or components. Despite the differences inherent in these different conveyor systems and components, each system suffers from the same difficulty in maintaining a clean, sanitary device.
Cleaning of conventional assemblies is made difficult because the assemblies often have curved, perforated components and include crevices, recesses and openings where dirt, bacteria and water can easily collect, but is difficult to remove. In many instances, bolts, clamps, or the like, are used to connect various components of the conveyor assembly. The interfaces between the bolts, clamps and the like and the holes that are required for same define environments where bacteria and dirt can easily collect or bacteria may grow.
Thus, conveyor assemblies currently available are difficult to clean, sterilize and maintain due to the numerous components that are attached together and the number of components that provide spaces for water and waste to collect and bacteria to grow. Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a sanitary conveyor assembly that provides minimal surface area for the collection of standing water, debris, and the like which provide surfaces on which bacteria may grow, and which is easy to clean.